


A Bridge Between Worlds

by MrBatFlash



Series: Cadmus Chronicles [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-09-22 03:09:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9579767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrBatFlash/pseuds/MrBatFlash
Summary: Kryptonian. Atlantean. Amazonian. Martian. Project Cadmus. Just some of the words used to describe Thomas Hunt as he battles for peace between these four worlds against a dangerous adversary who will stop at nothing to start war between them. Conflicted about where he really belongs...what choice is Thomas going to make that changes the world? Reviews are appreciated! AU.





	1. Project Cadmus

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews and Kudos are really appreciated if you like my work...
> 
> Thank you for reading!

**Chapter 1 - Project Cadmus.**

The cylindrical tube opened with a loud hiss and a boy stumbled out, clutching his chest for support. He hit the ground with a  _thump_ , causing the aching pain in his body to grow tremendously. Blinking several times he looked around, trying to clear his blurry vision and trying to move his body which was now resisting him.

Several arms reached out to him and dragged him across the cold damp floor, which caused shivers to be sent up the boy's spine. It was too cold. He could practically see his breath as he exhaled. They entered the other room across the hallway and the air around him changed drastically. It was more breathable and no longer cold. His blurry vision was starting to subside, and he found himself in a nice furnished room, sitting cross-legged next to the fireplace.

Opposite to him, he found what looked like an empty arm-chair sitting in the dark corner of the room. A tide of pain suddenly hit him, and his vision went blurry again. When he blinked, he found that a woman was sitting on the chair.  _Not so empty after all_ , the boy thought. A barrier of silence quickly built up between the boy and the woman, as neither said anything and continued to stare, one with curiosity and one with a studying harsh gaze. The boy with his innocent swirling blue eyes and the woman with her sharp, piercing brown eyes. The silence was broken by the boy, who could not withhold his curiosity.

"Who are you?" the boy rasped, and then put a hand to his throat. His throat felt like sandpaper and he was now having trouble swallowing. The woman remained silent and continued to study him. Not wanting to press on any further, partly because of his aching throat and partly because he knew he wasn't going to get any answers, the boy turned to the fireplace. He stared into the flames. The flames wavered, twisted and turned, as the boy cocked his head. The fire seemed to call to him. He could hear whispering voices. Maybe he should just reach closer and…

"Stop," a voice behind him called out. The boy's eyes snapped open and he found that his hand was at the center of the flame. He lurched it back quickly. He was now feeling terribly weak. It was almost like the fire was weakening him. He turned around to the woman.

She was no longer sitting, and had stood up. She sighed and gestured to the seat next to her, "Take a seat."

The boy followed her orders, suddenly frightened of her commanding presence. He climbed up the armchair and sat down. He was right next to her, and she continued to stare at him. She smelled of something sweet, like a toffee. Which was ironic considering her commanding and harsh personality.

"Do you know your name?" she asked, in the same harsh voice. She didn't care if this was a kid. She was treating him like an adult.

The boy frowned, his eyebrows arching downwards. Of course he knew his name...what was she on about?

"Yeah its…" he began but was cut off by the fact that he  _didn't_  know his name. His memory was completely blank, and he couldn't remember anything before the moment he came out of the tube-like structure and was dragged to this room. He closed his eyes hoping that he could search his brain for something... _anything_  about himself. But he found nothing, and was faced with a blank image of deepless space. He opened his eyes staring at the woman. Tears welled up in his eyes. "I don't remember…why can't I remember?"

His breathing had rapidly increased, he could not only feel his heartbeat but his pulse as well. He closed his hands into a small skinny fist, his knuckles turning white. His arms were spasming which caused his fists to shake around violently. Why couldn't he remember his own name? He could tell that by the state of the room, the woman who owned this was quite rich. The security cameras would suggest that she was paranoid. Which made him think that she worked in a field that was life-threatening. But there were multiple fields like that. He closed his eyes, and a word appeared on his blank mind. It was like a single word appearing on a piece of paper. A word written in crimson.  _Government_. That was the only logical guess, considering her clothes. Which woman dresses like that?

In less than 30 seconds, he had deduced what type of woman she was and what field she worked in. How could he do that...and not remember his own name? Leaping off the chair, he punched the wall in frustration. He had expected his fists to meet the hard surface and probably break because of the force he had thrown the punch. But the wall just broke apart as it came in contact with his fists, like a knife on butter. Fragments of debris flew everywhere

When he turned around, to his surprise the woman was just sitting there calmly in her chair as if nothing interesting had happened.

"What just happened?" the boy asked.

"You had an anger tantrum," the woman stated in a deadpan manner. "And it's alright if you don't remember your name."

"What?" the boy shouted. "Why is it alright?"

"Because you don't have name," she said. Before the boy could open his mouth, she continued, "You are a genetically enhanced clone...sort of."

It felt like the world was crashing down around him, tumbling and circling out of control.  _He_  wasn't real. Well he was...but he was just a copy of someone else. And for what purpose? His hand curled up into a fist again.

"Whose clone?" the boy tried to ask bravely but his voice came out as a choked rasp instead. "Which person?"

" _Persons._ People. You are made of multiple genetic codes. We have to hand it to the scientists… they spent years working on you." the woman explained.

So not only was he a nobody...he was a nobody made out of multiple people's genetics. He swallowed, trying to digest this new piece of information.

"This can be a lot to take in," the woman said quietly. She was no longer harsh and commanding, and instead soothing and calm.

"No kidding," the boy sighed, as he lowered himself into the armchair again. After a few minutes of silence between them, the boy turned to the woman again. "What's your name?"

"My name is Amanda Waller," she replied. There was something about the way she said it, that made the boy frown. A few minutes ago she was being harsh and commanding and now she was calm. He was sure something wasn't right. Suddenly a large thumping noise developed in his ear. At first, he was sure it was just his blood pumping but he realised that it was beating higher and then lower. Like a heart. He turned to the woman and the beating sound grew faster.

It wasn't just a thumping sound. It was the sound of her heart beating.

"I'm sorry what?" he questioned innocently, as he leaned forward trying to listen to the sound of her heart.

"My name...is Amanda Waller," she replied. The heartbeat rose, thumping so loud that the boy had to put a hand to his ear to stop the noise.

"And is Amanda Waller in charge of this...merry band of scientist" the boy asked.

"I am in charge of this operation," the woman said.

"Then you're not Amanda Waller," the boy smiled triumphantly.

She raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain?"

"This whole room screams paranoid. If Amanda Waller is really in charge of this operation, then you are not here. I can  _apparently_  punch through walls...why would you drop your guard against me?" the boy explained and then wistfully wondered what else he could do. He then sheepishly added, "Also I listened to your heartbeat. It spiked when you said you were Waller. So apparently I have super-hearing as well."

The woman looked at him in surprise and then her facial expressions returned to normal. "I have no idea-'

A crackling noise filled the air followed by a deep voice. "Forget it, Emily. Return to the office. I will personally see him."

It took a few minutes for the boy to realise that what he had just hear was the earpiece in the woman's ear.

"You can't do that," Emily protested.

A few seconds passed of silence. "Did you just give me an order, Emily?" the woman on the other end replied.

"No, I only meant-"

"Get to the office," the woman said blatantly.

Emily sighed and got up, prepared to leave.

"So...uh...Emily," the boy began. The woman's face spasmed with surprise and then turned to stone-cold anger. The boy began to tap his ear lazily. "Super-hearing...remember? I told you like...a minute ago."

"Miss Waller will be down here to see you shortly," she replied leaving the room and then added just before leaving, "try not to break anymore walls."

_Waiting was the worst,_  the boy thought. He still had not got over the information that the woman - Emily (he reminded himself) - had just told him. He was a clone. Just a copy and paste of someone...no...some people's...genetics. Questions dazzled in front of him like stars in the black sky. How did he learn to speak English? He was sure that's what the language was called. In fact how did he know anything at all? He could assign  _labels_  and  _words_  to everything here. From table...to desk...to chairs and to the fireplace. But how could he do that? How could he deduce people's backgrounds...find out their job...without knowing anything about himself.  _Because he was nothing_  he remind himself.  _Just a copy and paste with no memories…_

The door opened and he found himself face to face with a woman. She looked nothing like Emily. She had a  _permanent_  type of commanding presence around her. She looked like she could bend anyone...or  _anything…_  to her will. The woman looked up and down at the boy as if sizing him up. Forget super strength...the boy felt like this woman could destroy him if she wanted to.

"Are you, Amanda Waller?" the boy asked, listening carefully.

"Yes," the woman said. Her heartbeat didn't rise...in fact it stayed perfectly normal. Either she was good liar...or she was telling the truth. "And you are Project Cadmus."

"Cadmus?" the boy asked.

"It's a research project designed to create clones with... _abilities_ ," she replied, saying the last word as if it was hard to pronounce like stone was grating on her tongue.

"So what exactly am I?" the boy raised an eyebrow.

Amanda Waller paused, looking at the boy. She was not an emotional woman. That's why they called her "The Wall". She was capable of blocking out her emotions and focusing on the task at hand. She was aggressive and stubborn. But as soon as she looked at the boy, a specific emotion took over her. She had felt it before with her daughters, when her husband and son had died. That night, she swore to herself that the streets would not take anymore of her family. She had developed a feeling of protectiveness for her daughters. And now she felt an overwhelming need for protecting this boy even though she had only just met him. Protecting him from the  _truth_. Protecting him from the  _other one_.

"You are a human clone with genetic enhancements," Amanda replied. "Nothing more. Nothing less."

"Whose genetics?" the boy questioned almost immediately.

He was intelligent.  _Really_  intelligent for a seven year old. It made a lot of sense, considering his genetics. His DNA was comprised of four Justice League members. Superman...Manhunter...Aquaman...and Wonder Woman. However only a certain percentage of their power was inside him. Which meant that he could only have  _some_  of their powers. And all of their weakness. However this was only  _half his DNA_. He needed a blood transfusion from a human. Which meant that more than 50% of his DNA was human...and the other 50% was comprised of the members of the League.

"Superman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and Wonder Woman. I suspect you know them already," Amanda Waller answered, carefully leaving out the part about the human blood transfusion.

The boy lowered his head in confusion. "How exactly do I know them? How do I know anything?"

"You...have been pre-programmed," Amanda sighed.

"So I don't have any family...no parents...or brothe-"

"No," Amanda cut in sharply and felt a pang of guilt immediately at the boy's sad face. This was getting dangerously close to the topic that she did not want to discuss. She decided that the best course of action was to distract him. That's what she did with her son before he...passed away. "So have you selected a name?"

"What?" the boy's head perked up.

"Well you either select a name…" Amanda smiled for the first time in so many years, "or I call you Project Cadmus for the rest of your life…"

**9 Years Later.**

A bullet flew past Thomas Hunt's head nearly crashing into his skull. His hands flew up towards the attacker, crushing the robotic tech in his hand and chucking it down to the floor. The robot broke into several pieces and electricity sparkled at the ends of the loose wires.

He was in the training room. A large room that was the size of a castle. From the outside it looked nothing but a building but on the inside everything was weaponised. The weapons ranged from flamethrowers which burnt him, to kryptonite daggers which weakened him or a type of foam which sucked the moisture from his body.

He was first introduced to this room when he was nine, and made the mistake of underestimating it when Amanda had dragged him in. Without preparing he had just walked right in, and had been stabbed by a kryptonite dagger, wrapped in the foam and nearly got burnt to crisp. If it wasn't for the backup team waiting, Thomas would have died right there.

From then on, every week he was dragged back in the training room, which Thomas had called the  _torture room_  back then. And every week he was exposed to the same things. It was then that Amanda Waller decided to give him some advice. Probably the most useful advice he had ever gotten. She told Thomas to use his surroundings to his advantage.

The next time Thomas had entered the  _torture room_ , he decided to use Amanda's advice. It was there that he learnt that he could do things his own way. Why do it the generic way when there was a more unorthodox way that saved him time and probably was more fun? When the flamethrowers turned on him, why not use the fire to get out of the foam? Or turn the flamethrowers against each other so they burnt themselves.

Another thing he noticed was that Kryptonite did not completely shut down his powers. He could use his super strength to some point. When he asked Amanda about this, she told him that the DNA of the Justice League members inside him are divided up. So some parts of Justice League members DNA are stronger than other parts. In fact, when Amanda showed him his DNA Analysis, he realised that he was only 3% Martian, 7% Atlantean, 13% Amazonian and only 27% Kryptonian, which added perfectly to 50%. When he asked where the other 50% is, Amanda told him that it was just normal human DNA. This sparked a sense of curiosity inside him and he asked her who the donor was, and she told him that it was anonymous.

He knew that she was lying. There was no doubt about it. He had tried hacking into the mainframe but had failed miserably and was caught by Amanda. He then was punished by being tasked to clean the  _torture room_. So while he waded in, trying to avoid the kryptonite, flamethrowers and foam while trying to clean every inch of the floor, she was no doubt having coffee and enjoying her day.

He was twelve when he discovered his telekinesis powers. He was in his own room having pizza when he wanted the remote to turn up the volume of the TV, but he was too tired to get up. He tried to use the  _force_  but nothing happened and he started to feel stupid for even trying. Just as he turned, the remote flew at him. It missed his hand and hit his head. The bruise healed fast and he tried again, and nearly succeeded at shoving a knife in his head. Having 3% of Manhunter's DNA meant that his telekinesis wasn't very powerful. He could move basic objects with his mind if the object wasn't too heavy.

There was something that was possibly worse than the training room. The lake.

Next to the  _torture room_ , was a lake. A pitch black, bottomless lake that he remembered Amanda throwing him into when he was fifteen, so that his Atlantean powers could be tested. The lake was closed off and sealed so that Thomas couldn't get out. Having only 7% of Atlantean genetics meant that he could breathe underwater but only for a certain period. Maximum six hours before he needed to come up to the surface for air. He remembered nearly drowning in the lake when Amanda refused to open the metal barriers in the lake. He had to punched through them, breaking apart the metal.

Out of all the powers he had, the Amazonian part of him had never truly being revealed. He didn't know what Amazonian powers he possessed. He had studied everything about Themyscira. No man was allowed to step inside there. He wondered how they would react to the very existence of him…

In fact he wondered how any of the Justice League members would react.

He had settled here and started to call this place home. This underground, secret facility which he didn't even know where it was located...was home to him. His thoughts were interrupted by the speaker.

"Thomas Hunt, please report to the office," the speaker blared.

Drawing an exasperated breath, Thomas kicked the pieces of robot away, and he left the training room. He passed the lake staring disdainfully at it, and entered the main building. Locating Amanda's office wasn't hard. Over the past 9 years he had been here, a mental map of this place had been burnt in his mind. He paused at the sight of the door Amanda's office and did not directly go in. He could hear voices inside…

"-can't do this. It's suicide," a voice which sounded like Emily's said.

"Have you grown to care for the boy after all?" Amanda asked.

"Don't tell me you haven't" Emily cried out. "I admit, I didn't think much of him when he came out of that tube...but now...he's a good boy. You can't ask him to do this."

"Well if we don't-"

"He was designed to help or replace the Justice League," Emily cut in.

"Well if he doesn't do it...then there won't be a Justice League!"

"Shh...there is someone outside," Emily whispered.

Thomas felt like that was a good time to announce his presence. He knocked on the hard timber wood.

"Come in," a voice resounded from inside the room.

Gripping the doorknob, Thomas opened the door and found himself face to face with Amanda Waller and Emily.

"How much did you hear?" Amanda asked frowning. Thomas knew that he shouldn't lie to her, unless he wanted to sweep the floors of the training room again.

"I came when you guys were talking about making me do something," Thomas answered. He looked down, waiting for a punishment. Maybe he would be asked to clean the training room again? Or maybe this time he will be locked in the lake.

But to his surprise nothing happened. Amanda just leaned back into her chair and sighed. She had never looked so conflicted before.

"I need you to do something," Amanda replied. Thomas's eyes widened. Amanda Waller had never asked for help. She was always independent and preferred to do things her own way.

"Could you say that again? I can get my camera really quick!" Thomas asked, his eyes still wide open.

Amanda didn't say anything and just pressed a button under her desk. A giant screen slid behind her, replacing the crimson wall. The screen switched on and Thomas found himself staring at live coverage of the Justice League fighting. Superman swooped onto the screen smashing the ground. Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League followed suit and were attacking an enemy that Thomas couldn't make out.

"How familiar are you with Amazo?"

"The android? He has the power to duplicate the powers of the League," Thomas frowned.

"You know what happened the last time, the league fought  _one_  of those robots?" Amanda asked. Thomas shook his head. "It took six hours for the League to defeat only  _one of them_."

"So…" Thomas was still not getting the point here.

"There are four more. And they are attacking Metropolis as we speak. The League are working on it..." Emily explained "but the outcome doesn't look very successful."

"What do you want me to do?" Thomas asked.

"I want you...to help the Justice League," Amanda Waller replied.

**27 Minutes Later**

This was it. They were finished.

Clark knew it. The bots were too strong. As he swooped above into the sky to get a better perspective of the battle, he could see that the Amazo's were beating them badly. The League were doing everything they could but it wasn't enough. As much as they tried to rally their forces and try to attack the same robot, the other ones always intervened and dragged them away. Divide and Conquer. That's what they were doing. At this rate...they would have to retreat and call backup.

One of the androids telekinetically raised a truck with their hands and threw it at Black Canary. She was however engaged in another fight and had not noticed. Clark rushed into action at full speed, but he knew that he couldn't reach her in time. She was going to die…

But then something unusual happened. The truck flipped over and just as it was about to hit Black Canary, it floated. It just stood, hovering in mid-air, centimetres from Canary's face. The truck flipped back and hit one of the androids, who swatted it aside and it crashed into a building. Who did that?

Martian Manhunter was engaged in his own battle and had not noticed the hovering truck. There was a faint clicking sound in the background. Suddenly a sound erupted, like thunder crashing down. Smoke and rubble filled the air. Clark, using his x-ray, decided to see who had crashed down.

A boy? When the smoke finally settled, a boy stood in the middle of it all, staring the Amazo's down. Clark just hovered there staring in surprise. Seconds later, in a blink of an eye the boy had jumped onto one of the Amazo's planting a device on the back of its neck. The Amazo disabled itself and crashed onto the ground. The boy hopped of its back and waved his hand over his head, and a car from the parking lot crashed onto one of the Amazo's which sent the bot flying back into a building.

The rest of the Justice League took it as their cue to launch into action. Batman leapt up throwing explosive batarangs. Canary used her sonic cry, Aquaman launched water from underground. Wonder Woman burst into action, hacking the Amazo's apart with her sword. The remaining members followed suit and attacked as well.

So why was Clark still hovering there? Maybe it was the surprise at seeing the boy. His powers...it was like he was a mix of the League. Clark shook off the surprise, launched himself full speed at one of the Amazo's. Questions will be asked later. Right now...this boy was on our side.

As Superman held down the Amazo, the boy lurched forward and planted a small device on the Amazo's forehead. When the Amazo went offline the boy turned to Clark, and he smiled.

"You know...you look taller on tv," the boy stated and he lurched back into combat.

Clark stood there dazzled and not knowing what to say.

* * *

**Reviews are greatly appreciated and help me improve my writing. I log on everyday just to read the reviews you guys leave behind.**

**Any questions? PM me!**


	2. Mr Valdis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kryptonian. Atlantean. Amazonian. Martian. Project Cadmus. Just some of the words used to describe Thomas Hunt as he battles for peace between these four worlds against a dangerous adversary who will stop at nothing to start war between them. Conflicted about where he really belongs...what choice is Thomas going to make that changes the world? Reviews are appreciated! AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews and Kudos are appreciated and keep me motivated.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

**Chapter 2 - Mr. Valdis**

It took at least twenty minutes for the fight to end. Debris from buildings covered pathways and smoke was spread across the air. When the smoke finally cleared and the dust settled, four deactivated Amazo's lay on the ground, their pieces scattered among the rubble and debris. The boy stood among the scattered pieces, lost in his own thoughts, gripping his fists tightly.

"Alright, we need to talk," Clark said as he approached the boy carefully. The boy turned around and his eyes were practically shining when he looked at him. "Who are you?"

"Uh…" the boy stuttered. "I am a genetically advanced clone of the League."

"What!" Clark exclaimed in a mix of confusion and surprise.

"Oh god...I just realised how that sounded," the boy replied scratching his head. "Uhm...it's a long story. Can we talk about this somewhere else?"

Clark frowned. The boy reminded him of himself. From the shining blue eyes to the black ruffled hair. Then maybe throw in Wonder Woman's determination and Manhunters passiveness to maintain order. Aquaman's beard might suit him as well...

"Come with us to the Watchtower," Clark replied.

"Do you really think it's wise to bring him there?" a deep voice came from his left. Clark turned and came face-to-face with Batman. Bruce stood in the middle of the streets with his dark armour and his blue beady eyes inside his cowl staring at the boy. His jaw clenched tighter as he studied the boy up and down.

Clark had no doubt that he was already analysing the boy, coming up with his list of powers and possible weaknesses should the occasion arrive. Clark couldn't believe that he was doing that after just a few minutes with this boy who had helped them in their fight. But why wouldn't he? He had no problem doing it with the League. But this was just a boy...or was he? Clark turned to the boy trying to find some sort of solid proof that this boy was here to help.

Sure, he had helped the League with the Amazos...but that didn't mean that he wasn't a spy. Anybody could've sent him...maybe...maybe Lex Luthor? At the thought of him, Clark's hand mauled into a fist and clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Clark had good reason to be angry. Lex had hurt a lot of people. A lot of  _good_  people of this city. Just to get back at him for ruining his plans. And Clark couldn't help feeling that this was all his fault. Those people wouldn't have died if he hadn't…

_Stop_ , Clark told himself.  _Right now...the priority is finding out who this boy is_.

"You're right," Clark said, turning to Bruce. "We'll take him back to the Hall of Justice."

**46 Minutes Later**

Thomas found himself staring at the entrance of the Hall of Justice. The spherical room had several bookshelves which contained an enormous amount of books, and Thomas had no doubt these books contained an abundance of knowledge that could tamper with the world.

"Recognised. Superman. 01," a strained robotic voice resounded as it scanned Superman. The scanner moved on to him, a green light moving up and down. "Unrecognised."

"What's your name?" Superman asked.

"Oh...uh...Thomas Hunt," he replied, surprised by the sudden question.

"Temporary access. Thomas Hunt," Superman said. Nothing happened. And then a few seconds later…

"Authorisation...granted. Thomas Hunt. TA01," the robotic voice said again. "Authorisation. Superman. 01."

Ten minutes later, Thomas found himself in front of the seated members of the Justice League. The machine had taken awfully long to scan the rest of the members, and Thomas was about suggest that they upgrade their technology when Batman spoke up.

"I'll cut straight to the chase," Batman growled. "Who are you? What do you want?"

Thomas was standing in the middle of the room, and it started to feel awfully like a courtroom. It was like he was being judged on a crime, when he had just helped the League. A crime for  _existing_. He turned towards Batman.

"My name is Thomas Hunt. And there is no easy way to put this…" Thomas began, thinking about how he should explain this to the League. "I am a clone. I have the genetics of certain members of the League. Only four of them, to be exact. And what do I want? I was ordered to help you against your fight with the Amazos."

The League remained quiet for several minutes and it felt like the roof of the building was slowly collapsing on Thomas and he couldn't get out of the way. It was like he was being rendered weak as he watched the members of the League pass their judgement. Finally, Wonder Woman asked the question which was on everyone's mind.

"Which members of the League do you share your genetics with?" she asked.

Thomas swallowed, and exhaled. How were they going to react? Fear? Will they feel cheated? He sighed and spoke up, "Superman, Wonder Woman,Martian Manhunter and Aquaman."

The voice came barely as a whisper but the League was able to hear what he had said judging by their surprised faces. He looked up at the League members. Only seven of them were attending this meeting. The rest were off on another emergency. He looked at only four of them. The four that counted.

Wonder Woman was frowning, her eyebrows striking down like thunder and lightning which made Thomas wince. Aquaman was scratching his beard, deep in thought. Superman was shell-shocked. His mouth was opened in surprise. Surprisingly however, Martian Manhunter was just calm. He stared at Thomas with curiosity rather than anger or surprise, which Thomas was glad for. However, this made him wonder if the Martian had read his mind and had already known this.

"Who?" a voice came from the corner of the room, and it took a while to realise it was Batman saying it. "Who created you?"

Should he tell them? This was the League. He could trust them…right? A voice at the back of his head, whispered,  _don't do it...they will make you a lab rat_. Doubt was flooding his mind. He swallowed again and then suddenly a voice said, "Tell them."

It took a few minutes for him to realise that the voice came from the earpiece which Amanda Waller had given him. Superman had heard the same voice judging by the frown on his face. Thomas sighed, taking out the earpiece and crushing it in his hands. He dropped it and it hit the ground with an echoing  _thunk_. Amanda had given him something for this. She had instructed him to only use it when the order was given. Slowly, Thomas put a hand in his pocket. The League immediately tensed up. As Thomas withdrew the device, a batarang shot out from the corner of the room hitting his hand, and making him drop the device.

The device landed in front of him, and with a loud hiss and hologram of Amanda Waller appeared. Thomas looked at Batman for an explanation of the sudden attack, but his eyes were fixed on the screen in fury.

"My name, if you don't already know it, is Amanda Waller," the hologram said. "I am in charge of Project Cadmus of which Thomas Hunt was created."

Most of the League leaned closer to catch every word that she was saying. Manhunter was passively leaning back, exactly what she was talking about, which raised Thomas's suspicions that he had his mind read on entry.

"Project Cadmus was designed to replace four of the League members in the result of their death. To this day, we have only made one clone with a mash-up of four Justice League members. Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter. We did this to ensure the survival of the future. So we will always have a hero that will rise up to the occasion to help," Amanda continued. "Thomas's DNA is mostly human, I assure you. 50% of his DNA is human. The rest of his DNA varies on the four Justice League members. I can say without a doubt that his Kryptonian DNA is the strongest. Followed closely by his Amazonian DNA."

"I can assure you, that Thomas means no harm to you. He is here to help, if you would let him," Amanda said. "Obviously we didn't intend to announce Thomas this early. But faith has forced our hand. If you want to discuss something...Batman knows where to find me. Amanda out."

The hologram shrunk and died down. A few seconds later, the device self-destructed destroying the tech inside. A barrier of silence was quickly built up. The Justice League looked...Thomas couldn't find the proper word. Confused? No they understood what had happened. Happy? Definitely not. It was a mix between anger and the feeling of being cheated.

_But they were cheated,_  Thomas reminded himself,  _I am nothing but a copy and paste of some people._ How would he feel if someone had copied him and reproduced him. A clone that made him feel...meaningless. But Thomas couldn't imagine that...because he already felt meaningless.

"I have to go meet someone," Batman said, breaking the silence. He proceeded out, walking past Thomas as if he wasn't there. The Justice League slowly disbanded making excuses that they needed to be somewhere or something was calling out for them. One by one the members of the League left the room until the only people in the room were Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and himself.

"I...have an emergency to go to," Superman frowned apologetically, and he left the room flying at full speed.

"Yes me too," a deep voice which Thomas recognised as Aquaman said. "Mera probably needs me."

And he too disappeared. Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter were the only ones left. Thomas turned to them.

"Don't you guys have somewhere to go?" Thomas said angrily.

"I am not like the rest of the League," Manhunter explained. "I accessed your mind at the end of the battle. I have had far more time to process things. The League however had just been introduced to an idea of a clone that was designed to replace some of their members. It will take time for them to get over it. I know it must be hard for you as well. I also apologise for Batman's... _harsh_  methods."

Thomas was glad that somebody understood what he was going through as well. But then he frowned and turned to the Amazonian. Why was she here?

"Why are you here?" Thomas asked, repeating the question in his head.

"I am curious," Wonder Woman replied. "This is a dark tunnel that the League is heading into."

"Gee...thanks," Thomas frowned.

"But maybe...just maybe…" Wonder Woman said, barely more than a whisper. "There might be a light at the end of the tunnel. Just maybe...you might be some use."

"What's going to happen now?" Thomas asked.

"Well the League might call another meeting...but this time at the Watchtower...without you," Manhunter looked at him apologetically. "If you don't have a place to stay, there are some empty rooms in this building."

Thomas sighed. He could always go back to the underground facility...but staying her might give him a chance to explore this place. He looked up at Manhunter. He was the only one who actually understood what he was going through. Besides from Wonder Woman who just thought that he was dangerous but he  _might_  be able to prove himself useful.

"I'll think about it," Thomas replied as he turned and started to exit the hall.

Suddenly a shrill ringing sound painfully entered his ear. Clutching his ear, he looked around. Nobody was there. And he had destroyed the earpiece.

"Hello there, Thomas," a voice said.

"How do you know my name?" Thomas asked, but the voice ignored him as if he hadn't listened.

"Superman is offworld currently, he's at the Watchtower," the voice explained. "Which means the only person on this earth that can hear at this frequency is you."

"Who are you?" Thomas frowned, clutching his ear. But again the voice ignored him as if it hadn't heard him.

"Meet me at the East Potomac Park," the voice instructed. "Trust me...it will be worth your while."

The loud shrilling sound stopped. Thomas stood near the exit of the Hall of Justice, his face scrunched from the after effects of the sound. Who was the man? How did he know that Superman was offworld? Better question.  _Why_ was Superman offworld? Thomas's knuckles turned white as he gripped his hands tightly in anger. So much for an  _emergency._  Thomas shook his head and proceeded out to the exit.

He had already decided what he was going to do.

**17 Minutes Later.**

The trees reflected Thomas's feelings perfectly. It was Autumn, the harvesting season. There was a cold storm coming and in order to survive it, the trees had to reserve their energy source for themselves, and not branch it out to the leaves. This caused the leaves on the trees to wither and die. They turned a murky brown colour as they decayed and slowly fell on the concrete floor. Thomas felt like one of those trees. In order to survive the storm that was coming, he had to reserve the power for himself. And he had to watch as the leaves fell slowly around him, like the world crashing down on him.

He stood in the middle of the pathway, lost in his own thoughts. It was just a feeling, and Thomas did not normally believe in feelings of premonition. He worked by logic. But this feeling was stronger than anything that Thomas had encountered. His thoughts were interrupted as a jet black limo came to a screeching stop in front of him. A second passed and then the door to the limo opened.

A man stepped out from the limo. Thomas noticed several striking features about him. He was bald. He had no hair. It looked like it had been shaved off completely. Another thing he noticed was that he walked like he owned this place. He stood there towering over him, his piercing green eyes studying him and his cheekbones held high. Thomas knew who this man was.

"Lex Luthor," Thomas scowled. "I should have guessed."

"I'm surprised you hadn't," Lex smirked. A twisted annoying smirk that Thomas wanted to wipe off his face.

"Why am I here?" Thomas asked.

"I wanted to show you something," Lex said. The door of the limo opened again and a woman stepped out. She had light brown hair and red stained lipstick. She was wearing a business suit with a red tie and a short black skirt. Her brown eyes flashed at him once and then looked into the far distance. It was as if she was standing at attention, waiting for an order.

"Meet Mercy Graves," Lex said introducing her. "My personal assistant and bodyguard."

"You called me here to show off your bodyguard?" Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"Not quite," Lex chuckled. "Mercy show him the device."

The woman brought out something from the pocket of her suit. It was a small device with silver bumps, and a slot that looked like it could fit into something. "Take it," Lex offered.

"I'm not taking anything from you, Luthor," Thomas shook his head. He turned around and started to walk away.

"But don't you want to know what Amanda Waller has been hiding from you?" Lex asked.

Thomas stopped in his tracks.  _His trying to trick me_ , Thomas thought. But he couldn't help but notice the tinge of truth in his voice. Amanda  _had_ been hiding something from him. He was sure it wasn't recent. It was something that extended to when he first emerged from the tube 9 years ago. He turned around slowly and came face to face with Lex's smirk. He closed this distance and took the device from Mercy's stiff hands.

"What do I need to do with it?" Thomas asked, as he studied the rectangular device in his hand.

"Just insert it into Amanda's main computer in her office," Lex explained. "It will decrypt all her files and allow you to read them."

"You know what she's hiding from me," Thomas frowned. "why not just tell me?"

Lex smiled and leaned in close. "Because it won't be half as fun."

Thomas turned around and walked away, but not before giving Lex an angry scowl. As he walked off, Lex called out after him, tauntingly "I will be waiting here when you are done."

**27 Minutes Later**

The doors were wide open which was the first warning that something was wrong. Thomas stood at the entrance to the underground facility where he had been raised for 9 years. Never once had the door been wide open without security or cameras. He frowned as he studied the entrance for what had deactivated cameras was the second warning that something was wrong. Normally the crimson light would be blinking, but it wasn't.

Any normal person would get away from this place and call the police. This whole place screamed  _trap_. But naturally, Thomas did the stupid thing. He walked right in.

The eerie corridor leading to Waller's office was dark, empty and devoid of any life. As he walked through the narrow corridors he tried to use his super-hearing to see if he could hear anything. But he heard nothing, except the shuffling sounds of his own footsteps. A few minutes past with him from corridor to corridor and up the staircases.

Thomas found himself standing in front of the door to Amanda's office. He took a quick deep breath and opened it. Nobody was inside. The room was abandoned just like the building. Thomas crossed the room and slowly sank onto the empty chair. He reached out to the supercomputer on Amanda's desk and plugged in the device that Lex had given him. The decrypting process began instantly and in less than two minutes, Amanda Waller's computer was cracked open and every file was accessible to view.

Thomas scrolled through the names of the large list of folders that had appeared on his screen. He passed several black ops missions and other projects with weird names like  _Project C.H.E.C.K.M.A.T.E_ or  _Task Force X._ Finally he came across a folder that had caught his eye. In bold white letters the words  _Project Cadmus_  filled the screen. The folder was decorated with a symbol of what looked distinctly like a red sand timer with stripes against a yellow background.

_This is it,_  Thomas thought triumphantly.  _Every secret she had been hiding from me...I will finally know everything._  But should he know everything? Maybe Amanda was hiding this information for a reason? But he gave in to curiosity and clicked on the file. There were two files in the folder, and as the file expanded and several documents popped up, he immediately recognised a document with his name on it. But right next to it lay another file, with the captions in big bold letters,  _Adrian Valdis_.

Who was Adrian Valdis? How was he a part of Project Cadmus? He opened the document and several pages of information popped up on his screen. As he scanned the document, he realised that some of the words were highlighted in jet-black, making it impossible to read out the words. He scanned all the way down to a declassified section.

**Adrian Valdis.** **(Missing in Action)**

**Overview -**

This file is about Adrian Valdis, a clone and test subject of Project Cadmus, who is made up of four Justice League members and has been subjected to several speed force tests.

**Abilities -**

_**Telekinesis**_   _\- Adrian has shown the ability to move objects at will. He has accidentally set fire to the kitchens, whether this was on purpose or an accident we have no idea._

**Telepathy -** _Adrian has shown the ability to access other people's mind._

_**Phasing -** _ _Adrian has managed to show the ability to phase through solid matter. An accident had occurred where he had gotten himself stuck which leads us to believe that his phasing is still developing_

_**Superhuman Strength -** _ _It seems that Superman's DNA has taken effect. He has shown a tremendous amount of strength and has accidentally knocked down walls._

_**Superhuman Durability -**_ _He has been subjected to a test where he had to survive a 'murder castle'. It seems his skin is hardened and is barely fazed by any_ _normal_   _injury, although he could still be injured if enough power is applied._

_**Heat Vision -** _ _Adrian has shown the ability to fire intense beams of heat from his eyes. He nearly burnt the whole office down._

_**Super Hearing -** _ _Adrian has incredible hearing with the ability to hear at extreme variances of sound and pitch frequency._

_Despite the success of the experiment to introduce the_ _speed force_ _into Adrian's body, he has not shown any sign of it._

_Adrian has also confusedly not shown any signs of other abilities possessed by the four league members such as shapeshifting or invisibility. This is peculiar considering that Adrian has no human DNA at all, and is made of the varying DNA of these Justice League members._

**Psychological Tests -**

_Adrian has completed all the psychological tests and has been declared sane by at least 7 different psychiatrists despite Amanda Waller's disputes. There was one peculiar incident when the doctor that was examining him, and poked him with a needle asking him if he could feel_ _pain._ _To this, Adrian responded, 'Which one is pain?' However that was the only peculiar incident during these psychological tests._

Thomas's eyes left the screen as the reality of what he had just read started to sink in. He wasn't the only one that was part of Project Cadmus. Another young boy who was now missing in action was part of the original Project Cadmus. He scrolled down and a photograph of the boy showed up. He had blue eyes and dark brown hair that was short and spiky. He had a slightly pointed chin and a sturdy jaw across his handsome face. Thomas frowned. In a way...this guy was his brother.

Thomas sighed and leaned back in the chair. As he leaned back, he looked up at the door which was now wide open. Standing in the middle of the room was a boy. He had the exact same features as the boy in the photograph. The same sturdy jaw and pointed chin. The same spiky hair and blue eyes. But this couldn't be him...the boy had to be like 26 years old by now. But Thomas had already figured that part out. It's the same reason why Superman ages half as fast. Solar radiation. This didn't just  _look_  like the boy from the photograph. It  _was_  the boy from the photograph.

"Well...this is embarrassing. I didn't meant to walk into you like this," Adrian smirked. "How are you doing, little bro?"

* * *

**A/N: So what do you think? Reviews are greatly appreciated and help me improve my writing.**

**Special thanks to Llyd ap Dicter and Matthew Gemm for reviewing this story.**

**If you have any suggestions/questions, please P.M me.**

**Once again, thank you for reading, and make sure to leave a review!**


	3. The Mirror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kryptonian. Atlantean. Amazonian. Martian. Project Cadmus. Just some of the words used to describe Thomas Hunt as he battles for peace between these four worlds against a dangerous adversary who will stop at nothing to start war between them. Conflicted about where he really belongs...what choice is Thomas going to make that changes the world? Reviews are appreciated! AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos's are reviews are greatly appreciated!
> 
> Thank you for reading!

**Chapter 3**

**The Mirror -**

A second passed and Thomas's heart skipped several beats. Suddenly, without warning, Adrian rushed forward at amazing speed with blue lightning trailing behind him and he grabbed Thomas's collar, pushing him forward. What happened next was unimaginable.

Imagine your vision quickly becoming distorted and the whole world fading past you. The whole world became blur and seemed to bend backwards as Thomas was being dragged. Skyscrapers rushed past him and Adrian swerved to avoid the cars which made Thomas crash into them. The roads didn't help either. Thomas kept smashing into them, causing holes to erupt on the concrete ground.

A second later, the distortion died down and the blurring faded as Thomas found himself on his feet again. Nausea and the feeling of dizziness hit him instantly as Thomas bended down, clutching his stomach, as he tried to control himself. He head instantly swerved around trying to get a glimpse of his surroundings, as he blinked several times to make the dizziness go away. He was at the top of a skyscraper. He was standing on a helipad, dangerously close to the edge. Standing at the dead-center of the helipad was Adrian Valdis, still smirking. It was nightfall, and the moon was shining brightly against the murky dark clouds.

"Was that your first little rodeo at super-speed?" Adrian sneered. "Oh that's right...they never gave you super-speed did they?"

Thomas was instantly reminded of the experiment that they had performed on Adrian to give him super-speed. Words from the document, which were now burnt into his mind, popped up. Thomas document had said something about Adrian not having super-speed.

"But the document-" Thomas began.

"The document said that I had not  _showed_  signs of super-speed," Adrian jibed, cutting him off. "I tried my best to hide it. Why show them this gift? So they can experiment on me further? No...I hated the experiments. But I think Amanda knew...she had a strong suspicion about me."

Thomas slowly got up. His stomach was still hurting but the pain had receded. Thomas stumbled forward, afraid that he would fall from the edge of the building.

"Why did you bring me here?" Thomas asked.

"To open your mind," Adrian said after a pause. "We are brothers after all."

"Brothers?" Thomas asked, innocently. He was trying to buy time, trying to find a way off without alerting Adrian. "What do you mean?"

"We share the same Martian, Kryptonian, Amazonian and Atlantean DNA," Adrian explained and then paused. "What we  _don't_  share is the filthy human DNA you have. Honestly, what Amanda thinking? Putting human DNA in you...especially from  _him_."

Thomas's head snapped to Adrian, at the mention of his blood donor, so quickly that a  _snapping_  sound could be heard from a distance. He instantly regretted it as he stroked his sore neck. At least he knew that his blood donor was a  _he_.

"You don't know who your blood donor is? Oh my," Adrian snickered with humour. "Did Amanda tell you  _anything_? Or maybe she thought you weren't to be trusted."

That was the question that Thomas had been trying to ask himself all day. So much had happened in one day...he had been introduced to the Justice League, had been  _judged_  by them despite helping them in their battle, and he had met his  _brother_. What else was Amanda hiding from him? In fact, who  _was_  his blood donor?

"Cut to the chase," Thomas frowned, as he looked around. "Where are we?"

"Gotham," Adrian swiftly said. "On Wayne Enterprises, top floor, the helipad, to be exact."

"And why did you bring me here?" Thomas asked again.

"I already answered that. I want to open your mind," Adrian answered, and he turned around staring into the horizon at the tall skyscrapers of the city in the moon's pale light. "This city...it used to mean something. A place which was safe...for everyone. It didn't matter where you came from...you could be safe here."

Maybe it was just the side effects of his dizziness...but the air seemed to be more... _heavier_  up here. He looked at Adrian, wondering what he was trying to get at.

"But now? It's a wreck! This city...it chews through your soul. And it isn't just this place," Adrian snarled. "Since my...disappearance...I've travelled the world. I hoped that I could find some glimmer of hope that humanity has not turned to crime and the corrupt, but guess what? I found nothing. The crime and the corrupt are  _everywhere_. I used to think that the League was helping. But no...I know better now. They aren't helping at all."

He turned back to Thomas, and continued, "Crime is an infestation. An infestation that humanity has tried to remove but has succumbed to it. And what do you do with an infestation?" Adrian made a crushing motion with his fists. "You destroy it. You see...the only way to destroy crime...is to destroy these filthy humans."

"I'm part-human," Thomas's jaw clenched tightly, as the words came out of his mouth.

"And I'm giving you a chance. You are my brother after all," Adrian explained.

"You want to kill millions of humans in this city?" Thomas shouted angrily.

"No…" Adrian laughed, and barely managed to say his next words. "I want to kill  _billions_  of humans from this  _world_. Wipe them from the face of existence. It might take some pulling of the strings but don't worry...things will be on the upswing soon…"

"And who will populate the earth after the humans are gone?" Thomas asked.

"I plan to usher in a new era. Why not use the cloning technology...build more Kryptonians, Atlanteans, Martians and Amazonians...and teach them the new rules of society… _our_ rules...we can make this world great again!" Adrian snarled. "You see...a revolution is knocking on this worlds door...and I'm here to let it in…"

Adrian walked over to him, closing the distance between them until they were inches apart. Thomas's eyes were knitted in cold fury whereas Adrian had a psychotic flame burning in his.

"Which brings me to you. You see...you are the only other clone of Project Cadmus. With you and me together, we can take on the Justice League. Or..." Adrian paused and sighed, gripping Thomas's shoulder. "When this... _revolution_...starts, I need you to be on the  _right_  side."

Thomas gripped his own hand so hard that he practically felt his nails digging into his own palms as his knuckles turned white. He remained silent, thinking about what Adrian had just said. It sounded  _horrible_. To take so many lives...and continue to live with yourself. Suddenly, the door to the entrance of the helipad opened which interrupted Thomas's thoughts and a young security guard stepped outside.

"What are you doing here?" the guard shouted. "You shouldn't be here!"

Adrian sighed, his hands still on Thomas's shoulders. He turned around to the guard, his eyes filled with hard cold fury which Thomas had not seen before. A second past, and in a blink of an eye, Adrian was no longer standing in front of him. Thomas turned back to the guard and his heart skipped a beat.

The guard was standing there his mouth open in shock and a hole in his chest. Standing behind the guard was Adrian who was vibrating tremendously fast, his arm phased through the guards chest. Blue lightning was crackling at Adrian's feet and the sound of helicopter rotors spinning filled the air. Adrian stopped vibrating and withdrew his arm, snarling at the guard in front of him. The guard gave a choked cry and fell to the floor. Adrian turned to him, the cold hard fury still clearly visible in his eyes.

"Some people have no manners," Adrian growled, kicking the corpse of the guard. "Decide your faith, Thomas. Or you'll end up like these  _useless_  humans."

A second passed and Adrian disappeared as he ran at super-speed with the blue lightning trailing behind him. Thomas was left alone on the helipad with no company except the dead guard who was...well... _dead_.

**A Day Later -**

Thomas felt guilty. He had never seen a dead body before. For nine years he had been locked up in the secret underground facility, training to be the best he could. He had been begging to be let out into the real world but Amanda had always told him that they couldn't risk anyone discovering him. But now that he was outside in the real world, Thomas wished nothing more than to crawl back into the facility and stay there. Of course he knew that people died...he had even studied ways to kill people. So why was this making him feel bad? Maybe it was because he had never seen anyone die in front of him. The guard was young...he had a whole life ahead of him, and now it was taken away by someone.  _No,_  Thomas fiercely corrected himself.  _Not someone. His own brother_. At the thought of his brother, his vision turned crimson with anger.  _He would never join his brother_ , Thomas vowed,  _Never_.

After Adrian had disappeared, Thomas was unsure of what to do since he had never been in this situation. He decided to call the police, using the nearest phone booth. He sent out a 911 distress call and then walked away from the crime scene. He had just realised that he had nowhere to sleep. He was not going back to the underground facility, he didn't fancy another meeting with Adrian and be forced to listen to his monologues about  _infestations_. He decided to take Martian Manhunter's advice and to crash into one of the empty rooms at the Hall of Justice.

That night, he had dreams...no,  _nightmares_  about Adrian's vision for this world. He saw terrible things...he saw the world on fire, the barren landscapes filled with scared people running around everywhere. He saw Kryptonians and Martians descending from the sky, he saw Atlanteans drowning the earth, and the humans. He saw Amazonians using their swords against the helpless. He had no doubt that these were clones. They had to be...right?

Thomas rolled out of the bed and headed downstairs, and found that some of the League members were already there.  _When_  did these guys even sleep?

"We could send  _him_  to do it," Martian Manhunter suggested to the group.

"No," Batman grunted.

"Maybe," Superman sighed.

The League hadn't noticed that Thomas was on the stairs listening to the entire conversation. There were five League members there. Flash, Manhunter, Superman, Wonder Woman were huddled up together discussing something. Batman was at the far corner, tapping away on a computer.

"I think we can trust him," Flash began. "I mean...can you imagine what's it like to be him? To be-"

"This should be my call," Wonder Woman interrupted. "This issue...is related to my world."

"I would like to inform you…" Superman said and turned to direction where Thomas was crouching, trying to hear every word. "This conversation is no longer private…"

Thomas stood still not daring to move. But Superman was just looking right at him, as if there was nothing between them.  _X-ray Vision_ , Thomas sighed.  _Another thing I don't have_. Thomas waded into the open and climbed down the stairs. He was caught red-handed.

"Hey guys," Thomas said. "So what do you want from me?"

"We want you-" Clark began with no hesitation.

"Hold it," Batman cut in, turning around scowling at Thomas. "What were you doing up there?"

"Well I woke up, I ate some cheerios. They were terrible," Thomas explained, raising an eyebrow. "Honestly, don't you guys have something like coco-pops around here?"

"We don't cater to kids," Batman said, the dark beady eyes studying him.

"Well you'll find that I'm not an ordinary kid," Thomas replied. He was disliking the Dark Knight by the minute. Thomas turned back to Superman. "What do you want?"

"We have intercepted a transmission from underground," Superman explained. "Wonder Woman claims that this transmission came from a person in her world. Her name is-"

"Magala," Wonder Woman cut in. "She is an Amazon sorcerer, who works for my mother. We have our...differences. But I believe it was her that sent the distress call and I can't just ignore it."

"That's where you come in," Superman said. "Magala has been...undiplomatic against the League in the past. We want you to go in and scout around."

"So you're sending me as a test dummy. If it turns out to be a trap," Thomas replied angrily, "It won't matter. Because none of you guys will be in danger. Two birds, one stone."

"Thomas it's not like th-" Superman began

"Cut the bullshit," Thomas sighed. "I'm still going to do it anyway"

This surprised the League and sent out a few frowned faces. Even Batman turned around, his eyes full of curiosity, probably wondering what Thomas was up to.

"But I'm not doing it for you guys," Thomas explained angrily. "I'm doing it because someone needs help."

"We will have someone to accompany you" Superman replied.

"I don't need-"

"I insist," Superman said. He turned around and faced Batman, and their eyes met. A silent conversation ensued between the Dark Knight and the Boy Scout. According to Thomas it went something like this:

_Superman:_   _You know what to do._

_Batman: *GRUNT*_

_Superman: Come on...do it._

_Batman: *GRUNT*_

_Superman: Do it or I'll use my heat vision to turn you into ash._

_Batman: *GRUNT*_

Finally Batman sighed and turned to Thomas. "Nightwing will accompany you," Batman replied with a scowl. He turned back to the supercomputer and tapped away. A holographic screen erupted into the middle of the room, and a image of a old lady popped up. "This is Magala. Her distress signal came from-"

"East New York Freight Tunnel," Thomas cut in. His hands scrunched into fists and his knuckles became white. This was dangerously close to the underground facility that he had been raised in. Was Adrian part of this? But a more important question popped up in his mind. Should he tell the League about Adrian? If he did then they might be able to help. Or Batman could just suspend him from the mission for having personal ties to it.  _No_ , Thomas thought,  _This is a personal matter. I can solve the issue myself._

"How do you know the place?" Flash asked suspiciously.

"I know every street of this city. It's been pre-programmed inside my head when I was born," Thomas answered, still intently staring at the hologram.

"When were you born?" Superman asked curiously.

"Nine years ago," Thomas replied.

"Nine years?" Superman exclaimed. "But you're sixteen!"

"He was artificially aged," Batman said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. He was no doubt storing that in the back of his mind for later use. He turned to the League, "You guys are dismissed. I want to have a private chat with...Thomas."

To Thomas's surprise, the League left Batman and him alone. Superman looked back and forth between them uncertainly but then he too flew off. Thomas turned to face Batman. The blue beady emotionless eyes stared back at him. He took out something from his utility belt and handed it to him. It was an earpiece.

"You will use this to communicate with the League," Batman said.

"Good to know you guys have my back," Thomas replied sarcastically.

"We don't," Batman dead-panned.

"I was being sarcastic," Thomas explained, frowning.

"I should hope so," Batman replied.

Thomas couldn't control his anger this time. His eyes darted to the Dark Knight. "What do you have against me?"

"I don't like things that I don't know anything about," the Dark Knight scowled. "Considering your intellect, I wouldn't be surprised if you knew everyones identity here. Now I don't care where you came from. You might have been cloned or you could have come from the streets. You could have been sent by our enemies or you could have been a puppy about to be run over by a car. I couldn't care less. I will see through the facade you put up."

"I didn't want to be cloned," Thomas shouted angrily. "Do you have any idea what's it like...to know that you are just a copy and paste of someone else?"

"Boo-hoo...cry me a river," Batman sneered. "I know that you're hiding something. I don't know what it is exactly...but I will find out."

"I'm not hiding anything," Thomas's fists clenched tightly. That was a lie...he was hiding something. He hadn't told them about Adrian. So in a way, which Thomas totally hated, the Dark Knight was right about him.

"That is for me to judge," Batman turned back to his supercomputer. "I suggest you hurry."

Thomas numbly rushed out, still clenching his fists to stop himself from punching the Dark Knight in the face.

**27 Minutes Later -**

_Abandoned underground tunnels sucked_ , Thomas thought, as he walked past the walls that were covered in soot and the faint smell of urine in the air. But that wasn't the worst part.

He met Nightwing near the entrance to the sewers. He gave Thomas a quick glance and gave him a quick nod as he jumped into the underground sewer. Thomas followed suit and had to stop himself from choking when he reached the bottom of the underground sewer. Out of all the horrors in the sewers, from the sliminess of the waters to the brown-stained walls, the smell was the worst. The ruthless smell in the air was made up of all kinds of odours - human excrement, foul bodily odours, tobacco - all mixed together.

"So, you're the clone guy?" Nightwing asked as he broke into a run, not waiting for Thomas to catch up.

"That's a little bit harsh," Thomas winced at the introduction. "Any idea where Magala is?"

"I have already located her," Nightwing quickly glanced at him. "She should be…"

Nightwing suddenly stopped, and turned to his right. A dark tunnel lay there, with the lights flickering on and off. The smell was even worse down there. It was like the entire sewage had just redirected into the tunnel. Thomas gave an exasperated sigh of annoyance.

"Of course…" Thomas ran a hand through his spiky hair. "Go down the creepy dark tunnel. Why not?"

It was hard to tell because of the flickering lights but Thomas thought that he had just seen Nightwing  _smile_. It was hard to believe anyone that was associated with Batman, would _smile_  or even have a sense of humour. Instantly as he walked through the tunnel, Thomas noticed that the walls were  _wet_. Sure, this was a sewer, but how had the sewage reached from the start of the tunnel to the end?  _An outside force_ , Thomas thought.  _Something had pushed the water into the tunnels_.

Not only was this suspicious but his instincts were kicking in and practically screaming for him to watch his back. Together, Nightwing and Thomas reached the end of the tunnel. In front of them lay a whole open space, like an underground warehouse. But that wasn't what surprised them.

In the middle of the secret underground warehouse, Aquaman stood towering over Magala who was on her bloodstained knees. Next to her lay a shiny mirror, which Thomas realised was not reflecting the surroundings of the warehouse. Instead, it showed a silhouette of...a person? It was hard to tell, but Thomas was sure that the silhouette looked human. Thomas's eyes turned back to Aquaman and mouth opened in shock.

Slowly, Aquaman raised his trident, aiming it straight at Magala, ready to bring it down with full force.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos's are reviews are greatly appreciated!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	4. Controlled

**Chapter 4 - Mind Control**

 

Thomas could see everything happening in slow motion. The trident flashed before his eyes as it made its way down at the defenceless Amazonian. With full force, Thomas hurled himself forward towards Aquaman, soaring through the air at inhuman speed. He crashed into Aquaman and sent him hurling backwards, where he landed with a large  _ thump _ . Thomas turned towards Magala, and breathed in raspily. 

 

Magala lay on the ground with blood flowing everywhere. The trident had been shoved through her stomach and blood slided down the handle. Magala’s once tanned old face with olive oily skin had now turned chalk white as life drain out of her. Thomas turned to Nightwing who stared at her in shock. 

 

“Send help,” Thomas shouted, which snapped Nightwing out of his shock. He nodded and tapped the earpiece, and static followed. 

 

“I can’t get a signal here,” he replied. “I’m going to go back to the entrance of the tunnel.” 

 

And with a quick nod, Nightwing broke into a run and left. He stared at Magala and decided that he had to do something otherwise she was going to die. He put a hand in the wound to stop the blood-loss and he inspected it. The wound was deep and a lot of blood was flowing off it. He turned to Magala. “You’re bleeding heavily. I’m sure that an artery is broken and that you are hemorrhaging internally. I’m going to have to cauterise the bleeding. It's going to hurt. A lot.” 

 

Thomas turned to the wound and his eyes started to glow like burning coal and intense ruby beams shot out of his eyes at the wound. The wound closed off as he burnt some of the damaged tissues. Thomas didn’t know how he knew this and did all of this instinctively. He concluded that it must be a part of his pre-programming. The old woman was breathed heavily and at first, Thomas thought it was just a normal reaction to the cauterisation. Then she did it again. She was trying to say something. Thomas leaned in closer, straining his ears, “What?” 

 

“The girl,” Magala said as she raised her index finger slowly at the mirror. 

 

Thomas had noticed the silhouette before but now that he was closer he could get a closer look at it. The mirror was beautiful. It had a sleek, curved look with a shiny polish. Thomas looked into the mirror his heart skipped a beat. There was a girl in there. The girl was noticeably tall, fair-skinned and looked about his age. She had curly black hair, blue eyes and a muscular build. It looked like...Wonder Woman...only younger. The girl’s eyes opened and she stared at Thomas’s intense gaze. He turned to Magala, “Who is she?” 

 

“A clone…of Diana…” Magala said. “Donna…”

 

Thomas stared at the girl, wondering what to do next. He knew how it felt to be a clone. And he could imagine what she was feeling right now, being trapped and confined  _ in  _ something. He had to free her. Thomas’s hand curled into fists and he raised his right hand and brought it down with full force. 

 

The glass shattered into several fragments and the girl stepped out. She stood there dazed, breathing heavily. 

 

“Are you oka-” 

 

The words had barely escaped his lips when she punched him in the face which sent him hurling backwards and crashing into the pipes behind him. Water started to fill the room from the damaged pipes as Thomas stood up, rubbing the back of his head. He was confused, and realised that the girl had  _ attacked  _ him. The girl stared at him with anger. She probably thought  _ I  _ had attacked Magala.A second passed and then she started to sprint towards him at full speed. Before she could hit him again, a fist swerved into her which knocked her unconscious. Aquaman had become conscious and had intervened. Thomas turned towards Aquaman and nodded, “Thanks”

 

However something was different. Aquaman’s eyebrows were knitted in fury and his eyes had a angry demeanour. He raised his hand out and his trident flew into his hand, and he seamlessly raised it above him in one motion...ready to attack him. Thomas lurched out of the way, and the trident hit the pipes which filled the room with more water. Aquaman wasn’t himself. He lurched again at Thomas, waving his trident around like a madman and Thomas dodged again. The fight continued like this, with Aquaman slashing and jabbing with his trident, and Thomas trying his best to avoid it.  _ This is going nowhere _ , Thomas thought.  _ He needed to end this. Magala and the girl needed medical attention and him fighting Aquaman wasn’t doing anything. _ Aquaman slashed at his head again. Thomas dodged it and used the aggressive motion of the trident against Aquaman, impaling it into Aquaman’s own body in one seamless move. Aquaman stumbled backwards, and Thomas used this moment of weakness and kicked him in the stomach which sent Aquaman flying backwards, breaking more pipes. More water started to flow into the room and pretty soon the entire floor was covered in water. 

 

A few seconds...a few moments...went by with neither of them making a move. Aquaman gripped his trident that had impaled him and pulled it out of his body which made blood soak into his suit. “Aquaman…” Thomas said carefully, “snap out of it.”

 

Aquaman faced him, his face still knitted with fury. He lurched over and Thomas thought that he had finally submitted to his wounds when the room started to shake. The floor started to rumble, and a faint hissing noise started to build up near the pipes. Suddenly pipes burst, and water flew from all directions. Aquaman roared and his lifted his hand into the air, and a giant tide began to build up behind him. This wasn’t Aquaman...from what he knew about him through his pre-programmed memories...Aquaman was a noble warrior. He wouldn’t kill people without a purpose. He wouldn’t attack innocent people. The tide continued to rise up, reaching higher and higher. There were multiple ways Thomas could handle this, but none of them guaranteed the safety of Magala and the girl. He knew what to do. 

 

He turned around, and his eyes started glowing like lava, a few seconds later beams shot out of his eyes cutting through the ground underneath Magala and the girl and he punched the ground for good measure. The ground suddenly gave way and Magala and the girl fell into another lower level of the sewers which kept them out of harm's way. 

 

Thomas turned around to face Aquaman, but there was no tide building up now. Aquaman had released everything and the tide headed straight for him. He didn’t have any time to react and the tide hit him hard, which sent him flying. He gasped as water entered his system. Unfortunately for Aquaman...Thomas could breathe underwater. 

 

Before he could strike again, Thomas lurched forward at high speed and knocking him into a corner. Thomas curled his fist and punched Aquaman. He punched him again...and again...and again...at superhuman speed. Aquaman who was forced into the corner couldn’t do anything but take the shots. Thomas stopped punching him and grabbed him by the shoulder. Rage filled his body. “Snap out of it!” Thomas threw him across the room. 

 

Aquaman stood up, using the walls for support. He glanced around, confused at his surroundings and then he turned to Thomas. “Th-Thomas?” he frowned and Aquaman collapsed to the ground.

 

A few seconds passed and then Superman flew in, followed by the rest of the Justice League. Thomas stared at them and then grinned, “You’re late.” The world then went blurry and everything went black

 

***

 

**3 Hours Later.**

 

Thomas woke up, gasping for breath. He gazed around at his surroundings. Heart monitor...oxygen mask...IV...he was at a medical facility. He suspected it was privately owned by the League and mainly used for the members of the Justice League. The lights of the medical facility suddenly dimmed out and darkness covered the room and in an instant the lights came back on. 

 

“Hello,” someone said.

 

Thomas’s heart monitor spiked up for a brief second and came back down to normal. He turned to Batman who was standing near the corner of the room. “Do you have to do that?” Thomas asked angrily. “Doors are built for a reason.” Thomas couldn’t be certain but he thought that Batman had just smirked there.

 

“Why was Aquaman attacking you?” Batman asked.

 

“Straight to the point, huh? No, thank you or good job?” Thomas replied. He didn’t need Batman’s appreciation but it was really annoying that the man hated him so much. 

 

“Answer the question,” Batman said. 

 

“I don’t know,” Thomas answered. “When I was fighting him...he didn’t feel like himself. He was...different.” 

 

“And how would you know so much about Aquaman,” Batman raised an eyebrow (Thomas couldn’t tell under the cowl, but he was sure that Batman was doing that). 

 

“Pre-programmed memories,” Thomas stated. “I know a lot of stuff.”

 

“How fortunate,” Batman deadpanned and turned to leave.

 

“How is the girl?” Thomas asked.

 

“She’s fine,” Batman frowned. “Why do you care?” 

 

Thomas’s ears started to grow warmer and a tinge of pink starting to appear. Thomas stared at him angrily, “Because unlike you I have feelings. And I can relate to her.” 

 

“In what way?” Batman asked curiously.

 

“She’s a clone of Diana.”

 

“So?” 

 

“I am a clone too. I know what it feels like,” Thomas stared angrily at him. “Because I have been locked away at a facility for years, training to be something that I never asked for.”

 

“You’re not the only one,” Batman said softly.

 

“I know... _ Bruce Wayne _ ,” 

 

He waited for the surprise to fill his face but nothing happened and he just stared back at Thomas with perfect poker-face. “How did you get to that conclusion.” 

 

“It's quite obvious. To own the gadgets you have requires wealth. There are a lot of wealthy people in the US...but not many in Gotham where you mainly operate,” Thomas continued. “And to do what you do...you need a strong motivation. Something like...the  _ murder _ of your parents by the hands of a criminal.”

 

Thomas faced turned to Batman and he was met with cold fury and his face had hardened especially when he mentioned the death of his parents. Batman approached him, his feet stamping on the ground. He grabbed Thomas by the collar, and shouted, “Do not mention this to anyone…” He let go of the collar, his fingers twitching violently and he stared back at Thomas with pure hatred. “I know that you’re up to something. I’ll find out what it is.”

 

Batman retreated back into the corner, his gaze still fixed on Thomas. The lights suddenly dimmed and when Thomas looked around...he was gone. Thomas sighed and promised himself that he would check the corners of the room for a back-panel exit. But right now...he needed some rest.

 

**2 Hours Later** **-**

 

He woke up to the sound of knocking. Someone was knocking at the door. Thomas sighed and he drowsily got up. At least he knew it wasn’t Batman...he would completely ignore the door altogether. “Come in!” he said.

 

To his surprise, Superman entered with lunch on a platter. He set the plate down next to the hospital bed and he hovered there for a second. “Thank you,” he replied. 

 

“For what?” Thomas asked innocently, trying to hide his smile.

 

“For saving Magala. And the girl,” Superman added. 

 

“Is the girl awake?” Thomas questioned.

 

“No. She’s out cold,” Superman answered. “Why are you asking?”

 

“Just curious,” Thomas replied. “She’s a clone.” 

 

“Batman told us,” Superman smiled. 

 

“You mean Bruce Wayne?” Thomas raised an eyebrow. Great...it had been less than an hour and he had already mentioned who Batman was. Batman’s empty threat still hung in the air around him. Clark’s face spasmed with surprise and then to Thomas’s surprise he started to chuckle.

 

“So that's why he was so mad when he talked to you,” Superman smiled. “I’m not big on the whole identity thing. If you ever need my help...my name is-”

 

“Clark Kent,” Thomas cut in. 

 

“How’d you know that?” Superman asked, cocking his head to side. 

 

“What...you think that a pair of glasses and a different hairstyle is going to fool me?” Thomas smiled.

 

“I better let you finish your lunch,” Superman chucked and then he left, which set a record for the first Justice League member to actually  _ use _ the door.

 

Thomas grabbed the platter and wolfishly ate down his food and set it aside. He got up from the hospital bed and went into the showers in the next room. He took a brief hot shower which made him feel energetic and awake. After that he didn’t know what to do, so he decided to wander around.

 

The Medical Bay was larger than Thomas thought. It was made of many rooms which led to other rooms. Concentrating hard, Thomas tried to use his super-hearing.

 

“-don’t trust him,” Batman said. “He is a danger to this League.”

 

“We have to keep him close,” Superman said. “He wants to use his powers for good. I’ve seen that in him.”

 

“Good? He beat Aquaman unconscious,” Batman snarled.

 

“His life was threatened,” Superman replied calmly.

 

“You really believe that?” Batman said after a pause. 

 

“You don’t?” Superman questioned.

 

“No…” Batman replied.

 

“Only one way to find out...Aquaman is unconscious in the medical bay,” Superman said. “When he wakes up...we will know.”

 

“He’s secured,” Superman added, probably noticing Batman’s reaction. 

 

_ They didn’t believe me,  _ Thomas sighed.  _ Well I can’t do anything about that. I better check up on Aquaman. I hit him really hard last time. _

 

Aquaman was a few rooms away from him, and Thomas rushed forward cautiously but managed to hit the thick invisible force which sent him a few inches backwards. He frowned, but when he looked back up he didn’t see anything.

 

“Don’t bother. Its an invisible forcefield. It will take a lot of force to bring it down,” Aquaman smiled.

 

“Why’d they put you in here?” Thomas asked. 

 

A few seconds passed.

 

“I think you know,” Aquaman said after a while. 

 

“Was it you?” Thomas asked. “Or were you being controlled?” 

 

“I was controlled,” Aquaman sighed. “I’ve never felt anything like this before. I didn’t even feel it coming...it just took over my mind, and it went completely blank. The last thing I remember is you beating the crap out of me.”

 

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Thomas smiled apologetically. He turned around and sighed. Thomas had nothing to do now. The League would most likely not trust him, and Batman would make sure about that. He needed to investigate deeper into this because he suspected that Adrian was somehow involved in this. The timing couldn’t have been a coincidence. He suddenly got an idea. “Can I investigate into this matter?”  _ Not that I need permission,  _ Thomas told himself through gritted teeth.

 

“Sure,” Aquaman nodded. “I trust you. Even if most of the League doesn’t.” 

 

“Any ideas who would do this?” Thomas asked.

 

“No idea,” Aquaman replied. “But Batman found something pretty interesting. The Amazo’s you fought off a few days ago? Guess who they were funded by. They were traced back to  _ Lex Luthor _ .”

 

Lex...upto no good. But what did he have to gain by funding the Amazo’s and helping him find Amanda Waller’s secret.  _ Looks like I have to pay him another visit,  _ Thomas promised himself. 

 

“I’ll look into it,” Thomas nodded, and turned to leave. “Thanks,”

 

“Thomas?” Aquaman called out. He was very close to the forcefield, just a few inches away from it. Thomas turned around at the call. Aquaman’s eyes were glinting. “Thank you.”

 

With a final nod, Thomas left the room and travelled up to the main level. The Hall was open, and several Justice League members were discussing something. Not caring with what they were saying, Thomas decided to leave immediately before someone questions-

 

“Where are you going?” a harsh voice rang out behind Thomas.  _ Batman _ , Thomas sighed.

 

“I don’t think that's your concern,” Thomas replied, continuing his way out of the Hall of Justice. 

 

“I think it is,” Batman closed the distance between him and Thomas and grabbed his shoulder. 

 

“Know that you touched me, because I let you touch me,” Thomas growled at Batman. “If I wanted to, I would break every bone in your body.”

 

“But you wouldn’t,” Bruce said simply.

 

Without saying anything, Thomas left the Hall of Justice.

 

**5 Minutes Later**

 

The car stopped right in front of him as he was about to cross the street into the alleyway. Thomas’s hands curled into fists, as he prepared for conflict. The door of the car opened, and a security guard stepped out. He was wearing a fashionable black tuxedo, and black pants. Black shades covered his eyes, which made him look suspicious. The eyes, according to Thomas, were where the emotions of a human being were most commonly expressed. When people wore shades, they were trying to conceal their emotions, which made Thomas feel suspicious and made it hard to read their face. The bodyguard turned towards him.

 

“Amanda Waller requests your permission,” the bodyguard said.

 

Of course, Amanda would be the one to send the most suspicious jet black car after him. Thomas sighed, eyeing the bodyguard suspiciously but he got into the car without a second thought. He and Amanda have some catching upto do. Mainly about his  _ brother _ .

  
  
  
  



End file.
